Apparatus for the manufacture of pulpboards



APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PULP BOARDS Filed Nov. 2, 1922 IllWITNESS mum A omms Patented Aug. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN CORMIE, OF EWING TOWNSHIP, MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TOAGASOTE MILLBOARD (30., OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PULIPJBOARDS.

Application filed November 2, 1922.; Serial No. 598,518.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, JOHN zen of England, andresident of the township of Ewing, county of Mercer and State thedesired dimensions or shape.

of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for the Manufacture of Pulpboards, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of pulp boards,and more particularly to that type thereof in which the pulp liquid iscaused to flow into a suitable mold and then subjected therein tomechanical pressure and air suction to expel the liquid therefrom. Inthis type of apparatus the mold is of approximately the dimensionsdesired in the pulp board; in order to produce pulp boards of varyingdimensions or of special configuration additional apparatus constructedfor the purpose is required or otherwise the product of a largerapparatus is cut' down to provide pulp board of Obviously, the firstmethod requires the installation of a large amount of machinery andthereby increases the cost of production while the second process,because of the fact that the board can be successfully trimmed or cutdown only after the pulp has reached a stage in its production in whichit may be handled and in which the trimmed-off portions represent somuch waste, is also costly and furthermore is wasteful of material. Theobject of the present invention is to overcome these objections anddisadvantages by providing means adapted to be removably incorporated inthe mold whereby the ulp board in a given mold is weakened a ong linecorresponding to the reduced size or the predetermined configurationdesired and upon which the pulp board may be broken when still in acondition to permit those parts thereof-which are removed to be returnedto the pul supply and used. The invention will be escribed fullyhereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an example of theinvention without defining its limits, Figure 1 is an elevation of anapparatus, partly in section, with my improvement applied thereto; Fig.2 is a plan view of the mold with my invention combined therewith, andFig. 3 is a similar view showing another application of the in- Conmm, ac1t1-- vention.

The apparatus, in so far as its general construction and arrangement areconcerned, may-be of any suitable type and accordingly, as shown, mayinclude a mold consisting of a bottom frame 5 (preferably provided witha false bottom of woven wire) and a deckle 6 suitably supported upon aplaten 7 arranged to be raised and lowered in any convenlent manner, asby means of a hydrauhc press 8. The apparatus .may further comprise anupper mold frame 9 fitted to a suction box 10 arranged to drain or suckaway water and air, said suction box being suitably mounted upon-theframe 11 of the apparatus in a manner to resist upward pressure andpreferably so asto serve as a medium whereby the pulp board is removedfrom the apparatus; suitable provision may be made in any well-known wayfor introducing the liquid-containing pulp into the lower mold frame 5.

In manufacturing pulp board with an apparatus of the kind illustrated,the liquidcontaining pulp is introduced in the desired amount into thelower mold frame 5, which is then raised by the press 8 into engagementwith the upper mold frame 9 in which suction is maintained at thisstage. In this way the pulp in the mold is simultaneously subjected tothe mechanical pressure of the press 8 and the suction effect of' thesuction box 10, whereby liquid is extracted from the pulp. After thisliquid has been expressed to the desired extent, the resulting pulpboard, held upon the u per mold frame 9 by suction, is transferred omthe apparatus and passed through the subsequent steps required toproduce the desired board. I

- Obviously, the dimensions and configuration of the boards manufacturedby the above apparatus are determined by the size and shape of thedeekel 6. In order to produce pulp boards of dimensions or shape otherthan those for which the apparatus is primarily designed, I propose toprovide the mold with means removably positioned therein whereby thepulp board, coincidentally with the expression of liquid therefrom,isweaken'ed along lines corresponding to the dimensions or shape of theboard it is desired to produce. Those sections of the board locatedoutwardly beyond these weakening lines are removed when the pulp boardis taken from the above-described apparatus, and because of the factthat the condition of the pulp 'board at this stage makes it possible,the removed sections are returned to the pulp supply and used again,thereby avoiding any waste of material.

In the preferred form the weakening means referred to comprises strips12 of suitable material and predetermined shape and of proper length toenable them to be set upon the bottom of the mold frame 5, eitherindividually or in combination with other strips, in positions to definethe lines along which it is desired to weaken the pulp board. The strips12 may be of any suitable cross-sectional form and in" the drawingsareshown of triangular outline, with the apical edge projecting upwardlyand'the base resting upon the mold frame 5, to which, if desired, it maybe temporarily secured by any suitable means. The height of said stripsabove the bottom of the mold is always less than the ultimate thicknessreached by the pulp board in the mold. Thus, as the liquid-containingpulp is introduced into the'mold frame 5, it will bury these strips, andas said pulp is progress sively compressed and, deprived of water, itwill be, in part,'forced to opposite sides of said strips and partlycompacted above the same to form a cushion which prevents said stripsfrom-injuring the pressure-exerting medium and from themselves becomingdamaged thereby. As a, result of this the thickness of the ulp boardalong lines in registry with said than its thickness at other points, sothat said board is weakened along the lines defined by said strips. Thispermits those sections of the pu p board which vare .located outwardlybeyond the weakening lines to be readily broken away or other wiseremoved as soon as the pulp board is taken from the ap aratus; as thepulp board at this stage is sti I broke (tliat is to say, the 'fibrousingredient thereof has not yet been chemically changed), although it iscapable of being handled, these sections may be returned to the supplyof pulp and used.

It will readily be seen that the waste rep- .resented by sections cutfrom finished pulp boards to reduce the dimensions thereof is entlrelyavoided, while at the same time an apparatus designed to produce pulpboard of one size or shape may readily and easily be converted into anapparatus for manufacturing pulp boards of lesser dimensions and of ierent configuration. It will be understood that the strips 12 are in nosense partitions which divide the mold into separate chambers or closeany part thereof against the entrance of the liquid-contain ing pulp; onthe contrary, said strips serve strips is materially less' simply toprovide weakened lines in said pulp board along which it may readily beroken to produce a board of lesser dimenslons or differentconfigurations than the dimensions or configuration for which theparticular mold is designed, this being accomplished at a stage when thebroken-off sections of the board are still in a condition enabling themto be converted back into liquid-containing pulp and utilized in themanufacture of subsequent boards.

By making the strips '12 of a cross-section to provide active edges ofrelative fineness, breaking lines of maximum efficiency are secured andat the same time surfaces of minimum area are presented tothe suctionagency, whereby the possibility of said strips beingafiected by thesuction is reduced to a The strips 12 may be set in any desiredadjustment and relation in said mold and may be shifted about at .willto locate the weakening lines in any in the scope of the claims withoutdepart- 7 ing from the nature of my invention.

I claim:

1. In apparatus'for the manufacture of pulp boards, a mold adapted toreceive liquid-containin pulp, means for expelling liqluid from saipulp, and means removab y positioned in said mold for weakening the pulpboard therein coincidentally with the expression of the liquid, alongpredetermined lines without however severing the pulp board, to permitsections thereof to be subsequently readily removed and returned to thepulp supply substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In apparatus for the manufacture of pulp boards, a mold adapted toreceive liquld-containing pulp, means for expelling liquid from saidpulp, and members removably positioned upon the bottom of said mold forweakening the pulp board, coincidentally with the expression of liquid,along predetermined lines to permit sections thereof to be subsequentlyreadily removed and returned to the pulp supply, said members extendingabove the bottom of said mold to an extent less than the ultimatethickness reached by the pulp board therein, whereby the latter isscored without however being completely severed; substantially as andfor the purpose described.

3. In apparatus for the manufacture of pulp boards, a mold adapted toreceive liquid-containing pulp, means for expelling liquid from saidpulp, and triangular strips removably ositioned upon the bottom of saidmold or weakening the pulp board, coinoidentally with the expression ofliquid, along redetermined lines to permit sections thereo? to besubsequently readily removed and returned to the pulp supply, saidtriangular stri 5 extending above the bottom of said mold to an extentless than the ultimate thickness reached therein whereby the la outhowever being com stantially us and for 'th by the pulp board 1181 isscored Withre pletely severed, sube purpose described.

testimony whereof I have -hereunto set my hand.

IFOHN

